Happy Birthday, Simon.

Betsy and I are excited to report that Simon Seff Girgis was born on Thursday night, May 6, at 7:40pm. He clocked in at 7lbs 13oz, 21 inches in length, and came complete with a full head of hair. Labor was grueling at times, but Betsy was truly amazing and is recovering well. Simon, who may still be referred to occasionally as the Little Dude, is doing very well and passed all his tests with flying colors.

As many of you know, we've been waiting for the delivery to learn about the extent of his cleft since we first discovered the cleft lip at his 20 week ultrasound. Simon was born with a complete, unilateral cleft (meaning all the way up to the nose) on the right side, as well as a cleft gum line and what appears to be a bilateral cleft palate (gaps on both sides of the roof of his mouth). But despite the significant clefting, Simon has been feeding like a champ. The cleft does not cause him any pain or discomfort. We'll be off to the cleft team at Rush in just under two weeks to take a closer look and start scheduling his first round of treatments.

But for now, we're just going to spend the next few days getting to know our new friend, and figuring out what this parenting stuff is all about.

More to come.